Sharing Boston ... Converse

Converse is a really cool Boston-area (Malden, 1908) brand that we can be proud of and inspired by. They are succeeding because of innovation across departments and playing openly with New and Social Media. Take a look at the multi-media experience at Converse.com and their Social Networks - get lost there. You will get the message and might want to buy the shoes. CMO Geoff Cottrill shares some secrets in this Mashable interview ..." be a good party guest."

To put the Converse brand "experience" into perspective, you will need to do a little reading about big ideas...

Get Smart-er

Tim at Frog Design wrote a wonderful piece about "Smart Brands in the Connected Age". Every "Smart Brand" should muster the strength to understand... because it lays out the new emotional commitment to your brand and the physical structures needed to fulfill both opportunities and obligations. He outlines key elements: Networks, Social intelligence, Platform, Super-flexibility, Presence, and Unpredictability.

OK, it's deep stuff. Read it. Believe it.

But Tim admits to not knowing of a company that is a "Smart Brand"

Then I read the Comments (often the best thing about online publishing) where Daniel Sutton posts:

Converse has actually done a pretty great job recently. Check out their Facebook strategy. They respond, they provoke, they offer you things as well and continue a relationship. In addition to their online presence they have been doing so great things at events, retail etc.

So, be proud of Converse and Boston, being a good (Social media) party guest, and sharing... like ideas for how to be a Smart Brand.

FYC, here is Tim's summary:

"... Is your brand adaptable, connectable, and sociable? Can it be easily upgraded? Does it, like a smart system, bring together interdisciplinary approaches and solutions in an “integrated design”? And does it have the courage to ignore the formulas offered by analytics? It seems counter-intuitive but the Connected Age is not the Age of Data. Smart brands remain ephemeral for they know that brands, despite the deluge of data at their disposal, are more substance than form, more chaos than structure, and more intuition than knowledge. They are viral because they are driven by passionate people, and their passion spreads through the connections they activate. They make a lasting impression because they have the ability to connect people with people, people with brands, brands with brands, stories with people, stories with brands, and stories with stories, all the while constantly evolving their repertoire of interactions based on their intuition and the faster-than-real-time feedback they receive from the members of networks they own, activate, or join. Hyper-connected, hyper-social, and omnipresent, they can anticipate desires, sense mood shifts, pre-empt knowledge, and quickly direct attention to significant events and conversations – because whenever something happens or is being talked about, they are already there."